Dubai: Leave your wallet behind when you head to the coffee shop this morning. Just remember to bring your iPhone. Apple Pay, the company’s digital wallet, launches in the UAE today. Anyone using credit cards from six UAE banks - Mashreq, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, RAK Bank, HSBC, or Standard Chartered - and having an iPhone 6 or later will be able to use Apple Pay.
“We are incredibly excited to bring Apple Pay to the UAE starting October 24, so customers can have an easy and secure and private way to pay in stores, in apps and on the web and, of course, using the devices they carry with them every day,” Jennifer Bailey, VP Internet Services, Apple Pay, told Gulf News in a phone call from Cupertino, California.
Apple Pay can be used anywhere that uses a contactless payment terminal, such as the wireless credit card readers available in most retailers around the UAE.
The UAE, along with Sweden, Finland and Denmark, will bring the total number of countries with Apple Pay to twenty. This will be the first time the service is available in the Middle East. Apple Pay will compete directly with Samsung Pay, launched in April, and BEAM, an e-payment service available since 2012.
The launch in the UAE comes as the country continues to see increases in e-commerce Deciding to launch Apple Pay in the UAE wasn’t done out of whimsy. When choosing whether to launch the mobile wallet in the UAE, the Cupertino-based company looked at several factors.
According to Bailey, the company considers such factors as the iPhone base and the use of credit cards. “Recent studies have indicated that card spending has increases substantially over the last couple of years, and that’s one of the key signs of accelerated growth towards a cashless environment,” Bailey told Gulf News.
“As you know, moving towards cashless transactions is part of the UAE’s government strategy, which has been supported by many of the leading banks in the market. With the rollout of Apple Pay, we believe more consumers will encouraged its use and accept making contactless payments in the UAE.”
Go to your Wallet on your iPhone and follow the instructions to add a credit card. Use the iPhone’s camera to read your credit card details. When you make a purchase, hold your phone near the retailer’s contactless payment terminal. Your iPhone will request you to confirm your purchase by using either Touch ID or your Passcode. After that, the payment is complete.
• iPhone 6 or later with iOS 11 or later or • iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3 with iOS 11 or later or • Mac introduced in or after 2012 running macOS Sierra or later and Touch ID on MacBook Pro Touch Bar or • Apple Watch • UAE as your selected region • iCloud account • Credit card from Mashreq, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, HSBC, Standard Chartered, or RAKBANK
• These locations are accepting Apple Pay at launch: Apple Store, Virgin Megastore, Caffe Nero, Marks & Spencers, Sharaf DG and Home Centre among others. Source
